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A producer鈥檚 note

A care parcel, when I was growing up in Berlin, was a parcel filled with goodies sent to loved ones away from home. It would contain treats, which might not be available at the far away place. For me, at Christmas, away from home, discovering Lebkuchen, a type of traditional German gingerbread, in these tightly wrapped parcels was always like a piece of heaven. When packing such parcels myself, it meant ensuring the recipient would be well provided for.

To my surprise, this part and parcel of my culture was something little known in the country I had moved to, England 鈥� although it, too, was a recipient of the original CARE parcels. They were food parcels from America distributed across Europe after the Second World War. The aid organisation CARE had sent them to stop the death toll, caused by starvation, from rising. The Second World War had left Europe in ruins and food was scarce. CARE stood for Cooperative American Remittances to Europe.

But why did the CARE parcel shape my nation while it was largely forgotten in the one I had moved to?

Investigating this seemingly common commodity, brought a wealth of discoveries:

Firstly, the concept of the organised sending of parcels to those in need, existed long before CARE came into being in 1945. The first relief parcels were sent during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870/71 through the Red Cross, or the International Committee the of the Red Cross (ICRC), to be precise. Daniel Palmieri, a historian at the ICRC provided me with additional insight:

鈥淣ot only did the Red Cross societies of both belligerent countries deliver care and assistance to their own wounded, and to prisoners of wars, but also neutral national societies of the Red Cross, which were not directly involved in the conflict, sent medicine, food and clothes for victims of war and even deployed medical staff on the field to directly assist them. In addition, the ICRC was able to collect and stock private relief donation to send them to a victim of war.鈥澨�

The Red Cross was in fact the first organised professional humanitarian aid agency. Compared to previous endeavours, the organisation was 鈥榩erennial and secular鈥�, meaning it was not dissolved once it had served its purpose, and it was not tied to any religious group. The Red Cross itself was founded as a result of a lacking of humanitarian aid.

Henri Dunant, a Swiss humanitarian, had seen how wounded soldiers were abandoned on the battlefield after the battle of Solferino in 1859 because no one was able to help them. In order to prevent such a disastrous situation from happening again in the future, Dunant and others set up a civilian society for helping victims of war. It became known as the Red Cross.

During the First World War (1914-18), the quantity of relief sent to victims of war by the national societies of the Red Cross had increased massively. The Red Cross also helped private individuals and ad hoc organisations to transport relief packages to the front. But there was something new as Daniel Palmieri pointed out:

听鈥�Civilian victims, not just military ones could benefit from this relief鈥�. And: 鈥淒uring the interwar years, the humanitarian assistance benefited mainly civilians.鈥�

In Germany, during the First World War, mothers, sisters, wives and various organisations were also keen to provide for their loved ones at the front, with so-called 鈥楲iebesgaben鈥�, or gift parcels. Volker Ilgen, author of 鈥楥are Paket & Co鈥�, has dug deep in the archives and found out the following:

鈥淟iebesgaben, were first and foremost food, but also alcoholic drinks, woollen socks and vests and the likes鈥�, he says. 鈥淎nything a soldier could need at the front was arranged to be sent there by different organisations. The biggest was the Red Cross, under whose direction not only the wounded were attended to, but which also set up collection points for food parcels and carried out the transport. The second were the big church organisations. The third were collection points run by the state, that is military ones. Finally there were collection points set up by business enterprises, which collected donated parcels for the soldiers from their own work force and then sent them to the front.鈥�

Volker Ilgen also points to a very interesting aspect, which reoccurred when CARE was developing its concept more than thirty years later 鈥� the matter of marketing.

鈥淭here were a few companies, which profited from the initiative. The biscuit manufacturer Bahlsen in Hannover, for example. They not only packed their parcels in-house, but also sent their famous Leibniz biscuits en masse to the front. By doing so, they managed to turn the Leibniz biscuit into the biscuit of the post-war years. The soldiers, who enjoyed these biscuits in the trenches, probably continued to eat them afterwards.鈥�

After the end of the First World War more private humanitarian aid initiatives emerged, particularly in the US to help Europe back on its feet. This brought several developments, which paved the way for CARE.听Volker Ilgen shared some details with me:

鈥淔irst and foremost, there were the Quakers, who quickly and comprehensively became active across Europe. In addition, as early as 1920, there was a parcel agency where Americans could choose from a selection of standard parcels, and these were sent through a newspaper publisher to an addressee in Europe. After the armistice in 1918, the most prominent Quaker representative, the future US President Herbert Clark Hoover, was assigned to set up the state-funded American Relief Administration, in order to channel all these relief activities. In so far, that is already a feature that would later characterise CARE.鈥�

The American Relief Administration (ARA) ceased its activities in 1923, but Arthur Ringland was part of that relief administration and picked up parts of its concept when conceiving CARE more than twenty years later in 1945 鈥� together with Lincoln Clark, a colleague who worked for UNRRA, the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration.

Clark envisioned an organisation which would 鈥減rovide an economical and non-profit method for interested Americans to send food overseas to designated individuals or groups鈥�.

听

Unique to CARE: the person-to-person approach

A key element of this parcel service was the person-to-person approach. This covered several aspects.

One, the postman needed proof that the parcel had reached its indented recipient; two, the recipient was encouraged to write a thank you note to his or her benefactor, which forged connections between them. Sometimes these words of gratitude were even sent over the airwaves. On other occasions they were read out on air. They also served another purpose 鈥� a marketing purpose. They demonstrated how immensely these donations were appreciated and how desperately food parcels were needed in war-torn Europe, thus making Americans feel good about their charity, encouraging them to donate more, and turning CARE鈥檚 concept into a success.

CARE鈥檚 marketing strategy also reached out to Hollywood stars such as Ingrid Bergman and Marlene Dietrich, who posed with CARE packages for photographs. Ingrid Bergman was the first to do so. It was a cause close to her heart. Her mother was German and when Bergman entertained American troops in Europe after the war, she was shocked by the devastation of her mother鈥檚 country and the continent as a whole 鈥� so much so that she later brought CARE packages to Germans, Czechs and Italians herself. Marlene Dietrich was also of German origin, but her contribution to CARE was directed at Israel in 1960, not at her home country. Her relationship with Germany was fraught and it must have seemed more sensible to her to support the people who were the victims of the Nazi Regime rather than those who were involved in it. It was a way of making some amends. 听

Marketing also played an important role in CARE鈥檚 relationship to American businesses. According to Heike Wieters, author of 鈥楽howered with Kindness? The NGO CARE, and Food Aid from America, 1945-1980鈥�:听

鈥淔or American businesses, donating products to CARE not only meant introducing their products to millions of potential new customers around the globe, but also enabled them to demonstrate corporate social responsibility.鈥�

Like many other post-war aid organisations, CARE was set up to provide relief in a hunger-stricken Europe. However, while others packed up when the work was done and Europe was recovering, CARE did not. It expanded its services beyond Europe and began operating worldwide: in Japan, the Philippines and Pakistan; and in the early 1960s also in Africa.

By that time, the last CARE parcel had been delivered to Germany; they were sent there between 1946 and 1960. In comparison, Britain received CARE parcels between 1947 and 1955 and Italy between 1946 and 1965.

Of course, on the surface, CARE was driven by charity, but there was also a political side to its activities, particularly in its early years. In May 1945, when US President Truman announced the end of the Second World War with the words:听

"This is a solemn but glorious hour. General Eisenhower informs me that the forces of Germany have surrendered to the United Nations. The flags of freedom fly all over Europe.鈥� His speech also contained the lines: 鈥淲e must work to bind up the wounds of a suffering world 鈥� to build an abiding peace, a peace rooted in justice and in law.鈥�

听

鈥欶ood Fights for Freedom鈥�

The ideas of 'justice' and 'law' were key in Europe, when the political map was redrawn there. Slowly the continent was divided into two political camps, the democratic West, led by the United States, and the communist East, led by the Soviet Union. The communist regime was oppressive and undermined democratic values such as freedom and justice. The tension between these superpowers became known as the Cold War. So, when the Soviets expanded their sphere of influence, America became alarmed.

One place, where the United States could take action was in Germany. Germany had lost the Second World War and was governed by the four allies who had won it: the Americans, the British, the French and the Soviets. Each controlled a section of the country. But, since the Americans, the British and the French ruled with democratic principles in the Western zones and had a different political outlook from the Soviets, who controlled the Eastern zone, the country was divided. In order to keep the Soviets at bay, it was important to firmly hold West Germany in the Western camp and ensure, it would not succumb to communist promises of a better future. 听

In order to have a future in the first place, food played a vital part in post-war Germany. American General Lucius D. Clay, Deputy Military Governor in Germany, was based in Berlin at the time and noted:

鈥�Hunger was to be seen everywhere and even the refuse pails from our messes, from which everything of value had been removed, were gone over 鈥� time and time again in search of a last scrap of nourishment.鈥溙�

So, when the Soviets started giving out food parcels, so-called pajoks, as early as August 1945, long before the first CARE parcels began trickling into Germany a year later, this made communism seem rather attractive. Although these extra rations went only to a select few 鈥� key people who would help to build their communist state: party members, artists, scientists. This was significant at a time when the US still forbade any relief for Germany to keep weak so it would not initiate another war.

But as the threat of communism grew, US President Truman was pressed to change his course. His policy towards Germany changed from a punitive to a supportive one. He realised: 鈥�If Western civilisation is to survive in Europe, it must also survive in Germany鈥�. Hence, instead of the country鈥檚 economic dismantlement, its reconstruction was now pursued. It was a key moment. The support was marked by granting relief. Even before Truman allowed CARE to send food parcels to Germany, there was another organisation, which had already started its operation, CRALOG (Council of Relief Agencies Licensed to Operate in Germany). CRALOG, like CARE, was a cooperation of aid agencies. It included the Red Cross and operated until 1962. Compared to CARE, CRALOG actually shipped much more relief than CARE, but it is not remembered because its goods were fed into the general relief distribution, rather than being sent to named individuals, and thus hardly visible to the public.

Food had become the key to winning people鈥檚 hearts and minds. This became particularly evident when the friction between the United States and the Soviet Union erupted in Germany, or, to be precise, in Berlin in June 1948. Berlin, like Germany, was divided. It was governed by the American, British and the French forces on the Western side, and by the Soviets on the Eastern side. The Soviets wanted to gain control over the entire city and cut off all road and canal links to the city鈥檚 Western zones. Food and other supplies could not get in. The Americans, together with the British and the French, were not prepared to give up their part of Berlin and kept the population alive by flying in food, including CARE parcels, and other necessities for almost a year. This became known as the Berlin Airlift. It was an immense undertaking, but a successful one, as the Soviets gave in. It was also a signal to the world, which showed that the Western forces would fight for freedom. The slogan 鈥楩ood Fights for Freedom鈥� marks a large silver box of dehydrated potatoes, which came to Germany during this period and is on display at the Allied Museum in Berlin together with original CARE parcels.

For Germans, seeing the former enemy, the Americans, supporting them so much left a deep impression. The CARE parcel had become a symbol for this support and its impact on West Germany was immense. For example, by the 1950s CARE had inspired Germans to create their own relief programme to support their struggling compatriots in the Eastern zone. At the same time the term CARE parcel had also found its way into the German language, as a newsreel from the period shows:

鈥淕ermans are helping Germans. That is the motto of this charitable aid organisation in Augsburg, a non-profit German CARE Package organisation for recipients in the Eastern zone. (Deutsche helfen Deutschen. Das ist das Motto des sozialen Helferrings in Augsburg. Einer gemeinn眉tzigen deutschen CARE Paket听Organisation f眉r Empf盲nger in der Ostzone.)鈥�

At this time, CARE also had many customers in the US keen to send packages into the Eastern zone, but the packages did not always get through as CARE could not come to an agreement with East Germany or the German Democratic Republic, GDR as was its official title. In 1952, the GDR forbade the import of organised donations altogether and after 2500 CARE packages had been confiscated by the East German authorities, CARE stopped delivering to that country for good.

Support needed to come another way. Now, West Germans wanting to help East Germans, who were not allowed to travel to the West, had to send parcels, so-called Westpakete, to individuals. But they faced many restrictions. For example, East Germans were not allowed to receive more than one parcel a month and only certain items were allowed. The restrictions changed over the years, and despite adhering to them, there was still no guarantee a parcel would actually reach its recipient or remain undamaged. East German authorities controlled the parcels strictly. They disapproved of these parcels as they laid bare the food shortages and lack of essentials in their country and thus demonstrated the failure of communism. Behind closed doors however, the view was slightly different. This becomes evident in the case of coffee. As coffee was notoriously in short supply in East Germany, it became a staple product of these Westpakete 鈥� so much so that when East German economists made their calculations regarding which products to import, they already took the coffee, which came as personal presents from the West, into account, so they would spend less on importing it from elsewhere.

Altogether, however, the communist regime tried to suppress all Western influences and the relationship between East and West was fraught. The irony was, when the Soviet Union collapsed in the early 1990s and faced an extremely hard winter, relief came in the form of CARE parcels from America.

America鈥檚 ability to spread its humanitarian aid around the globe and become a dominant presence in the field can be traced back to two underlying aspects: one is that charity is deeply rooted in the American culture, the other is that America had not suffered from the Second World War as severely as Europe and the Soviet Union. Hence America developed an economic power, which dwarfed that of the Soviet Union, which in turn was not able to provide humanitarian aid on such a large scale.

After the Collapse of the Soviet Union

With the collapse of the Soviet Union the Cold War came to an end. So, it鈥檚 is easy to think, the need for food parcels would now be over. But it is not. Ironically, right on the United States鈥� doorstep is one country that very much depends on them: Cuba. Yet, the US has prohibited any deliveries. Unlike the fraught relationship between East and West Germany back then, where there were at least some contacts, between the US and Cuba there was not even a direct postal service or the permission to travel for more than 60 years. The reason: Cuba is run by a communist, or, to be more precise, a socialist government. It is only recently that this embargo has somewhat been slightly lifted and a busy parcel service, run by specialist companies, is now in place. It enables Cubans, now living in the US, to support their relatives back home.听

A bit wiser...听

Looking back, I am surprised by how a simple, well-meant parcel full of treats could, at times, be so politically laden. Yet, against the backdrop of the Cold War and the immense support Germany received from America, I now understand why the concept of the CARE parcel, and the term, has left such a legacy in my country and become part of its cultural fabric 鈥� unlike in other European countries, where CARE parcels did not enter the collective memory.

But perhaps sending CARE parcels to them in times of need will change that.

Sabine Schereck